Top 10 Shocking Crimes That Hollywood Got Away With

Top 10 Shocking Crimes That Hollywood Got Away With

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most outrageous crimes and illicit activities Hollywood studios and moviemakers never truly got punished for.

#10: Substances Included in the Budget

It’s no secret that Hollywood actors aren’t always angels. However, some of their vices were actually carved into their movies’ budgets. Actors Dennis Quaid and Dan Aykroyd have both spoken about the cavalier, if not incentivized substance use that occurred on movie sets of the era. Many movies made in the 1980s had clandestine “cocaine budgets,” which was essentially cash set aside for the purposes of rewarding stars and film crews for their hard work. You could call it creative accounting. Outside of Hollywood, it’s called a felony. Quaid was just one of many actors who developed a substance use disorder during his time as an actor, and with practices like this, it’s safe to say he’s not the only one.

#9: Treatment of Animals

Another long standing and surprisingly prevalent practice in Hollywood has been the use, and abuse, of animals in films. As early as 1925’s “Ben-Hur,” horses in various battle scenes have been harmed, if not killed, for the sake of the action (xref 1). One of the most egregious may have been the Disney documentary “White Wilderness,” whose heartbreaking scene of lemmings jumping to their death was actually staged by producers (xref 2). Their deaths, however, were very real. You’d think this kind of thing wouldn’t happen anymore. However, contentious allegations of negligence with animals still occur in Hollywood.

#8: The Casting Couch

In 2017, Harvey Weinstein became the face of Hollywood’s

#7: Shooting Downwind from a Nuclear Testing Site

Although workplace safety should be top priority, that’s not always the case. One horrific example is the set of “The Conqueror,” a dismal epic starring John Wayne as Genghis Khan. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst thing about this movie. In the years following its location shoot in Utah, nearly half of the cast and crew developed cancer, and many died. Turns out, its desert scenes were shot downwind from a nuclear testing site. Lingering radiation and fallout from the Nevada National Security Site’s 1953 nuclear weapons tests have been blamed for these premature deaths. It’s hard to know where to lay the blame, as RKO Pictures knew about these tests and the government had told them it was safe. It remains a tragic Hollywood fable.

#6: Attack of Patricia Douglas

In the mid-1930s, Patricia Douglas was a dancer and an extra in various movie musicals. She was one of many young dancers invited to a studio party thrown for MGM’s out-of-town sales force. One of these salesmen, David Ross, attacked and sexually assaulted Douglas. She bravely filed charges against him. However, MGM closed ranks to protect Ross, bribing witnesses and working overtime to drag Douglas’ name through the mud in court and in the media. Even longtime friends dropped her, afraid to jeopardize their careers in the industry. Douglas is credited with being one of the first women in the film industry to expose the systematic predation rampant within it. She would have to wait many, many decades to be rightfully celebrated for her bravery.

#5: Danger on the Set of “Noah’s Ark”

In 1928, Hollywood was still developing, and the bigwigs were about to get a huge and deadly wakeup call about workplace safety. While filming the 1928 epic, “Noah’s Ark,” the climactic scene recreates the biblical story of the great flood. Without the benefit of CGI, around 600,000 gallons of water were used in the scene. Between the rush of water and the thousands of extras, chaos ensued. Although the allegations that three extras died during the scene might be specious, the staging was ill-advised. Director Michael Curtiz was warned of the potential dangers of unleashing a real-life deluge on actors instead of miniatures. He would go on to make classics such as “Casablanca.”

#4: Hitchcock’s Treatment of Tippi Hedren

When Tippi Hedren was plucked out of obscurity by the famous director, it was like a dream. She was a first-time film actress making her debut as the lead in his next big budget suspense thriller, “The Birds.” Using her inexperience and lack of industry power against her, Hitchcock molded her into the icy blonde dream he’d always been chasing. Then, he tried to cut her off from her friends and family, and made several unwanted sexual advances. When Hedren refused him, he made her life a living nightmare. Due to his fame and clout, she had no recourse, and as a result of her exclusive contract with him, her career suffered. Her story wasn’t widely told until years after Hitchcock’s death.

#3: Judy Garland’s Torment

Every component of a classic Hollywood star’s life was under the supervision of the studio who owned their contract. Some actors found ways to establish an identity outside of their star persona, but Judy Garland was only thirteen when she signed with MGM. She was still a teenager when the studio began systematically destroying her self-confidence and pumping her full of uppers and downers. Garland even acquiesced when the studio insisted she terminate two pregnancies, as they might disrupt her shooting schedule. Her treatment at the studio that made her a star also destroyed her life. The tragic details of her tragic circumstances and substance use disorder are well-known, but at the time, couldn’t be seen through all the glitz and shine of Hollywood glamor.

#2: Roman Polanski’s Case

In 1977, the director Roman Polanski was charged with assaulting 13-year-old Samantha Gailey. Although he pled guilty to “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor,” he fled the country to avoid a lengthy prison sentence. Despite the arrest, conviction, and fleeing from justice, Polanski still has a prolific film career. Academy voters went so far as to nominate and award him the 2003 Best Director Oscar for “The Pianist.” He may not be able to set foot in the United States again, but if winning an Oscar isn’t “getting away with it” as far as the industry is concerned, what is? It wasn’t until the

#MeToo Movement began that his own membership in the Academy was revoked.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions.

Actor Mistreatment on “The Exorcist”
Director William Friedkin’s Unconventional Methods Sound Pretty Cruel

Connections to Organized Crime
Stars, Studios, & Unions Sometimes Relied on Illicit Money or Pressure to Get Movies Made

The William Desmond Taylor Murder
The Director’s Unsolved Murder Was Complicated by Studio Interference & Became a Scandal

#1: Deaths on the Set of “Twilight Zone: The Movie”

Director John Landis staged a Vietnam War action set piece for his segment in this 1983 anthology movie. Horrifically, star Vic Morrow and two young performers, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, were killed when a helicopter crashed mid-shoot. There were already ignored labor restrictions to have the minors working in the middle of the night. Their parents even testified they had no knowledge explosives or a helicopter would even be used in the scene. Director Landis, who was heard to have told the chopper to fly lower during the scene, was one of five tried and acquitted for their part in the tragedy. Although Landis worried his career would suffer, he continued to make films well into the next decade.

Which of these crimes shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments.